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Massospora cicadina’s lifecycle is so closely linked to periodical cicadas, that it waits 17 years ... More to hijack its sex life — then spreads by turning them into walking spore bombs.
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Every 13 or 17 years, the forests of eastern North America erupt in a slow-motion frenzy. Billions of cicadas claw their way to the surface after spending nearly their entire lives underground, waiting for the moment to molt, mate and vanish.
For a few manic weeks, tree trunks drip with newly hatched adults, and the air rings with a chorus that can rival jet engines. But they’re not alone.
Emerging with them — timed to the very year, to the very brood — is something far more sinister. This is a parasitic fungus called Massospora cicadina. A pathogen that infects these ancient insects and rewires their behavior, turning them into sexual decoys whose final acts spread spores like a plague.
Beyond the chaotic rise of every brood lies one of nature’s most grotesque manipulations — a horrid affair that keeps this species alive against the odds.
Massospora Cicadina Waits In Sync With Every Brood
The life cycle of Massospora cicadina reads like a precision-timed ambush. This parasitic fungus lies dormant underground for 13 or 17 years, synchronized perfectly with its host — the periodical cicada.
When broods emerge en masse, so does the fungus, triggered by the very same environmental cues that summon the cicadas from the soil.
Massospora infects its host in two distinct stages, according to a January 2018 study published in Scientific Reports. In the first, called “Stage I,” cicadas emerging from the ground pick up resting spores, ready to infect others around them. Once these cicadas take to the skies, the fungus actively spreads from infected cicadas to healthy ones.
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